Jacquard mechanism.



C. SIMMINS.

JACQUARD MECHANISM;

APPLICATION FILED DEC.20. 1916.

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CHARLES SIMMINS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

JACQUARID MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 191?.

Application filed December 20, 1916. Serial No. 137,941.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAnLns SIMMINS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a' oertain new and useful Jacquard Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to jacquard mechanism and more particularly to a jacquard applied to a lace making loom of the Nottingham type though it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to this particular loom as the invention is equally well adapted for application to any loom wherein the comber board or bottom string slay extends to a considerable distance to either side of the head.

The object of the invention is to provide a, means for reducing the wear of the harness in its movement relative to the plate through which it is guided to the comber board and relative to the cornber board. It is an object also to distribute the strain upon the tie-up in such a manner that the cords at the ends of the machine are materially relieved of strain and wear.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred by me since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 represents an elevation of a connecting rod for a jacquard head embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of a coupling employed to join parts of the connecting rod.

Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 1 represents the operative position of the connecting rods at sides of the'jacquard head, the latter with the tie-up and its adjuncts being shown diagrammatically.

Fig. 5 represents a perspective of one of the collars for varying the stroke of a part of the head.

Referring to Fig. 4 of thedrawings, 1

' designates the griff frame of a single lift jacquard head having the customary griffs or knives 2 for engaging and controlling the lift hooks 3. Below the frame 1 is the grate l serving as a support for the hooks 3 as will be understood and intermediate the frame and grate are the usual needles 5 held by the respective springs 6 in such position as to be engaged by the card cylinder 7 in its movement toward the machine. The griff frame 1 is reciprocated by the cam con trolled crank arm 8 so that it rises and falls at the proper time in the cycle of operation. All of the foregoing relates to the common jacquard construction and it is therefore deemed unnecessary to go into further detail;

9 represents generally a connecting rod interposed between the griff frame 1 and the guide plate 10 for the purpose of transmit ting motion from the former to the latter, it being understood that there are two of such rods 9 located at opposite sides of the jacquard head as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4. In the present instance, the rods 9 are each formed in two parts the upper 11 being bolted to the griff frame 1 and the lower 12 similarly secured to the guide plate 10. To facilitate the connection, the ends of the rods 9 are threaded as shown at 13 and have adjacent thereto integral collars or flanges 1t adapted to abut the cooperating part. Nuts 15 complete the fastening means as will be understood. The sections of the respective rods 9 are suitably joined by a lost motion connection consisting in the present instance of a sleeve coupling 16 of tubular form to receive the juxtaposed ends of the parts 11 and 12 and provided with a transverse slot 17 which forms a guide-way for the key member which transmits move ment from one part to the other. In the preferred form, the key member consists of two tapered keys 18 and 19 adapted to fit the opening 20 in the rod part 11, one of said keys as 19 being recessed to straddle the rod 11 in order to prevent lateral displacement. The meeting faces 22 of the keys 18 and 19 are preferably tapered to give the desired wedge action while a suitable stud 23 serves to hold the parts in fixed position. By reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the stud 23 passes through a portion of each key and is held by a cotter pin or the like 2 1. The length of the slot 17 is relatively greater than the combined width of the keys 18 and 19 in order to permit the upper rod 11 to move a predetermined distance before transmitting ,motion to the lower rod 12 which carries the guide plate 10 and thus the latter has a relatively short travel while the griff frame travel is longer. By this construction, the hooks 3 are lifted as usual to perform their function while the harness guide is limited to a short movement and the wear therefore materially reduced. It will be noted that the coupling 16 is fixed to the lower rod 12, the fastening means in the present instance consisting of a set screw 25.

Th particular application of the jacquard head of my invention is in connection with a lace loom and I have here indicated the harness 26 passing through the guide plate ,10, then through the comber board 27 and terminating in a connection with a plurality of pivoted jacks 28 which together form a comb-like structure between the teeth of which the threads 29 of the lace being woven pass vertically and are reeled on the roll 30 as the product of the machine. The jacquard thus controls the jacks so that those held out by the pattern permit the thread or threads required to move from side to side in the weaving operation. The bobbins are thrown as usual from one side to the other by the faller mechanism.

Referring now to the length of the stroke of the guide plate 10 andits relation to the action of the harness, it will be noted that each of the rods 9 is guided in a part of the main frame of the machine. Thus the upper rod Sections 11 pass respectively through the cross bars 31 of the fixed frame while the lower rod sections 12 pass respectively through the cross bars 32 of the fixed frame. It will thus be evident that the downward stroke of the guide plate 10 is limited by the distance the cross bars 31 and 32 are spaced apart, since it will be understood that the guide openings in these, while large enough to permit free reciprocation of the rods, are smaller than the diameter of the coupling 16. The bars 31 and 32 are normally spaced to give a maximum movement to the guide plate 10 and variation of this maximum is obtained by providing collars 33 which are adapted to be placed loose upon the respective rods 12 between the coupling and the bar 32 and to act as a stop for the lower moving part to shorten its down stroke. The collars 33 are provided in a number of different lengths so that the stroke may be varied at will.

The effect of the relatively short stroke of the guide plate 10 as compared to the full stroke imparted by the movement of the griff frame 1 in the usual construction will be seen by reference to the tie-up and its movement relative to the said guide plate. In looms of the type having a long comber board, it will be evident that those cords of the tie-up, for example those indicated by 34, which pass to the'ends of the comber board are subject to severe strain owing to the pull of the jacks and the angle of the cord with the guide plate 10. The nearer the guide plate 10 approaches the comber board 27, the more acute becomes the angle A of the end cords. Hence by making the stroke of the guide plate less than the stroke of the griff frame 1 and stopping the movement of the guide plate before the griff frame has completed its down stroke the angle A is maintained relatively greater than it would be under a full stroke while the length of cord rubbing through the guide plate is reduced. Of course, this saving is greatest at the ends of the comber board and becomes less the nearer the center of the machine is approached, since of course those cords passing vertically from the jacquard head to the comber board are not affected at all by the variation of the stroke of the guide plate. When it is realized that the pull of each jack 28 amounts to several ounces and as each machine contains two to three thousand jacks, it will be apparent that the harness pull upon the head amounts to five to six hundred pounds so that the wear upon the cords having a very acute angle with the guide plate is extreme.

In the operation of the head, the guide plate 10 is carried up with the harness by the movement of the grifi' frame 1 and when the end of the stroke is reached the harness and frame 1 descend independently of the guide plate since the latter falls by gravity and reaches the end of its stroke prior to the end of the stroke of the frame 1. This movement is permitted by the lost motion allowed by the slotted coupling 16 as will be understood. In consequence, the harness under the fall movement when the pull is excessive has a considerable movement after the guide plate has become stationary but owing to the relatively large angle formed by the cords with the guide plate as compared to the same position of the parts, when the guide plate returned to the lower position, ordinarily imparted by the full stroke of the grift' frame, the length of cord moving through the plate is less and the wearing pull reduced. The angle of the end cords with the comber board is also greater and there is a further reduction in the wear at these points.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a complete unitary jacquard head for use with looms having a comber board extending a considerable distance beyond the sides of the jacquard head, wherein a simple and efficient means are provided for so reducing the wear upon the harness and increasing the life of the tie-up as to materially reduce the time ordinarily lost in re pairing and renewing the cords of the tie-up.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim is:

1. In a jacquard mechanism, the combination of a griff frame, means for reciprocating said frame, a comber board, a harness passing through said comber board and connected from the jacquard head to a loom mechanism, a guide plate for said harness and means to impart a shorter stroke to said guide plate than the stroke of said griff frame, whereby the strain is reduced on said harness.

2. In a jacquard mechanism, the combination of a griif frame, means for reciproeating said frame, a comber board, a harness passing through said comber board and connected from the jacquard head to a,loom mechanism, a guide plate for said harness operated by the riff frame in one direction of movement and means to impart a shorter stroke to said guide plate than the stroke of said griff frame whereby the strain is reduced on said harness.

8. In a jacquard mechanism, the combination of a griff frame, means for reciprocating said frame, a comber board, a harness passing through said comber board and connected from the jacquard head to a loom mechanism, a guide plate for said harness operated by the griif frame, means to impart a shorter stroke to said guide plate than the stroke of said griif frame and means to vary the stroke of said guide plate at will whereby the strain on said harness is reduced 4. In a jacquard mechanism, the combination of a grifi frame, means for reciprocating said frame, a harness, a guide plate for said harness, means secured to the griff frame for transmitting motion to said plate and a lost motion device formed as a part of said transmitting means whereby the guide plate moves only a part of the stroke of said griif frame.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

CHARLES SIMMINS. Witness:

ROBERT M. BARR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

